Musings from this week

My tweeting prophecy came to pass when serial womaniser & viagra popping French Toad DSK, was last Monday charged with "aggravated pimping" by the French courts. DSK croaked he didn't know women he had coitus with at sex parties were prostitutes...and Hens have now voted in favour of hard boiled eggs over cereal for breakfast. 

Meanwhile the 21 year old black man who recorded a police officer racially abusing him should be thankful he wasn't shot at in cold blood for looking suspicious, and lived to tell his story. Unlike their American cousins who are often on a high to partake in the ritualistic ethnic cleansing of blacks, the English officers shoot out a couple of nigger jokes. Refreshing than laying in a pool of blood for wearing a hoodie innit? The officer in question, PC Alex MacFarlane has now been suspended after much deliberation by the CPS, who at first dismissed the case as trivial because the officer's nigger remarks were not distressing enough to crack a tough old hardened black man.. The wheels were  only kicked into motion after the victim's lawyers threatened legal action.

PC MacFarlane, spotting the look of a worn out mechanic incapable of spelling the word itself and appearing like the poster child of the EDL told black youth "You will always be a nigger". Credits:DailyMail

Mauro Demetrio, looking like a dishevelled rented car and quite dodgy in every sense, secretly filmed his racist abuse by police. Credits: DailyMail.

The Price of Democracy: Freedom

As Aung San Suu Kyi  looks set to finally have a seat in the Burmese parliament for the first time in her political career, I re-visit an article written 16months ago in my previous blog at the time of her release in 2010 from two decades house of on and off house arrests which started as far back as 1989.

"Human beings the world over need freedom and security that they may be able to realise their full potential". Aung San Suu Kyi.

These are the words of a woman who spent fifteen years of her life in detention( mostly under house arrest) having very limited encounters with the outside world. There was no access to a TV,phone, or the added luxury of e-communication (email,etc). Newspapers and a radio were allowed whilst all visitors heavily screened by Burma's junta.Letters were fine combed before submitted to Suu Kyi and in most instances never passed on. Whilst in detention, her English husband Michael Aris died of cancer in 1999.They last met in the Christmas of 1995 as the Burmese junta repeatedly denied giving the dying Mr Aris a Visa to see his wife.Instead Aung San Suu Kyi was "encouraged" to leave the country to visit Micheal Aris in London. However she feared never being allowed back into Burma on grounds of her political discourse towards Burma's junta. Suu Kyi refused to leave the country and Aris died without seeing his wife.It will be eleven years before she will see the youngest of her two sons: Kim Aris on November 23rd 2010. She has never met any of her grandchildren. 

Like Mandela; Suu Kyi paid the ultimate price in the belief of democracy (a government for the people, by the people and with the people): her freedom. 
Was this a price worth the personal sacrifices foregone for the people of Burma? 
Lost moments with loved ones which will never be re-captured given up for the pursuit of one's belief?. 
To deny the opportunity(albeit presented in a shark's murderous jaws) of saying the last good-bye to a dying husband because of faith in one's belief?. 
A life spent in almost solitary confinement because of optimism in one's belief?.

What motivates a wife and a mother to give up all she must love so dearly(seeing her children grow,missing out on all the important milestones in their lives,etc) because she dared to hope for change in a country with a poor democratic record? 
Is it inner strength and outer resilience which forms such formidable characters that make history from time to time?

Like cliffs formed from rocks resistant to erosion and weathering: so too are these political fighters who have been incarcerated in one way or the other-yet come out standing tall and strong like the Trango Towers of Pakistan; more determined than ever to pursue their fight for justice and equality. The love for their country people and patriotism made them"obstinate" in the eyes of their political opponents; with "correctional" facilities such as  prison,detention, etc regarded upon as suitable measures to "straighten" them out. However I believe prison, detention, etc hardens political "offenders" rendering them more likely to commit "political crimes".

I marvel at Aung San Suu Kyi's walk of political fame admiring her strength of character yet  wonder immensely if she has any personal regrets? Is she haunted by an image of her dying husband feeling neglected that she chose the people of Burma over him...at his most vulnerable?

Do her children perhaps resent their mother for "abandoning" them in the pursuit of her political aspirations? Or perhaps she considers herself  a matriarch to Burma and its people thus the need to fulfill her matriarchal services not only at a personal level but on a national level to all Burmese.

No doubt Aung San Suu Kyi believes in her fight for political freedom  and democracy else her fifteen years in detention would have been futile.She may likely not regard her personal sacrifices and her freedom as the ultimate price for democracy for her father, Aung San was assassinated in 1947; two months into his new post as  new leader of the Union of Burma, when Suu Kyi was just two years old.

"Despair is not the right word, but there were times that I would worry … a lot, not so much for myself, for my situation, but for the future of the country." Aung San Suu Kyi. November 2010.

Suu Kyi by portrait of her father Aung San

Happy Birthday to me!

Just to say thank you to all  the staff at this amazing hotel. A deluxe service all round for all seasons. For more information, visit The Four Seasons

Pope dons a sombrero during his Papal visit to Mexico

Image credits: Toronto Sun

Guardian reporter confuses Kanye West for Chris Brown

Just came across this courtesy of  @EclecticSarah.
#Just tar them all black. No difference.

21st Century: The Age of Plastics

According to BBC Radio4, we live in the Plastic Age. Couldn't agree more. The plastics are usually accompanied with the logo "Made in China"; even Mao Tse-tsung couldn't have foreseen this Great Leap Forward. Meanwhile the Plastic People usually have the logo "Made in Essex" or "Genetically Modified in USA".The Stone Age almost seems a luxury from where I stand, naked sense with minimalistic modesty...
literally.

President Obama wades into Trayvon Martin's murder

"When I think about this boy, I think about my own kids.If I had a son he'd look like Trayvon. They are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves and that we're going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative to investigate every aspect of this and that everybody pulls together – federal, state and local – to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened.I think all of us have to do some soul searching... And that means we examine the laws, the context for what happened, as well as the specifics of the incident."

The Telegraph reports Zimmerman is now in hiding.

Black teen murdered by whiteman for looking "suspicious"

Racism remains the greatest cancer of American society, and has been since the founding of this nation – by men who owned slaves. (Kevin Powell)


The spate of events over the years which have seen black U.S. male teens and young men gunned down mercilessly and often in a hail of bullets leaves one wondering if White America is imbued with a dominant racist gene prototype. Emmett Till, Amadou Diallo, Oscar Grant, Sean Bell, Ramarley Graham and now Trayvon Martin have all been victims of this gene disorder often displayed in dysfunctional White America.

Image Credits:The NewYorker

It appears Obama may have failed in his ground breaking historical accomplishment to dispel the white myth "The black-man is a f******g n****r" up to no good. If you live in the UK, perhaps that could be replaced as "You can't trust 'em bleeding gangstas innit? Dodgy hoody wearing loot they are"
The shooting dead of of a 17 year old black boy by a 28year old white-man for simply looking "suspicious" and "up to no good" is currently causing a backlash and  widespread furore across the pond.

Murderer set loose: Zimmerman

Florida:

Trayvon Martin was shot dead in the chest on the 26th of February as he walked home from the shops, with skittles and iced tea in his pocket talking to his girlfriend on the phone. Trayvon's crime was being a black male walking through a gated community. He was followed, appeared to have been pushed to the ground (according to his girlfriend who has not been named to protect her identity) and murdered in cold blood. And there you have  a 114kg 28 year old man wrestling with a 63kg boy with the latter eventually been shot and the former claiming self defence on the grounds of Florida's controversial "stand your ground law" which allows individuals use any form of self defence to protect themselves.

Self appointed neighbourhood watch Captain George Zimmerman,(described as white male by police and Hispanic by his family) with a string of offences to his name including being charge for the battering of a police officer in 2005 and resisting arrest; questioning for domestic violence, placing 46 calls to 911 operators in the month of January alone (mostly to report about "suspicious" black males lurking about);  and described by neighbours as being monomaniac about linking black-men to crime, has been let to go scot-free by defunct  US police who carry the faulty racist gene as he "acted" in self defence thus the stand your ground law applies.
However doubts have been thrown on this possible raw lie as new evidence came to light showing Trayvon had been talking on the phone to his girlfriend when he was attacked by Zimmerman. Aware he was been followed, Trayvon's unamed girlfriend asked him to run.
So what sort of "self defence" is it when a young black boy is pounced on for talking on the phone while walking through a gated community?

A released tape of the 911 call made to police by Zimmerman indicate just before he murdered Trayvon, Zimmerman made a racial slur calling the young teen a "f*****g coon". Of course police missed this and are now reviewing all their records.
At the time of posting, Zimmerman is yet to be arrested and charged for murder and a possible hate crime. Will this just be another black murder by a white-man pushed under the rug?.

Victim's parents: Tracy Martin (Center) and Sybrina Fulton(R) 

Facts about  Trayvon's execution by white American male

• Trayvon had been to the shops to buy his younger sibling skittles and iced tea.He was on the phone to his girlfriend and walked across the gated Florida community as a short cut back home. Trayvon was unarmed and aware he was being followed as he spoke to his girlfriend, who advised him to run. He replied he was just goin to walk faster.
• Zimmerman eventually caught up with him asking him "What are you doing here" (As overheard by Trayvon's girlfiend). A scuffle ensued as Zimmerman appeared to have intimidated the young lad pushing him to the ground, executing him in cold bold with a gunshot to his chest.
• Zimmerman self appointed himself as a neighbourhood watch Captain. He does not belong to any approved Neighbourhood watch society. In a call to the 911 about a "suspicious looking" black man, police advised Zimmerman not to follow Trayvon. This instruction was promptly disregarded as shortly afterwards, Trayvon was executed.
• In the relased tape, Zimmerman describes Trayvon as black and suspicious looking. He also appears to have used a racial slur...which police miraculously missed.
• Kevin Powell for The Guardian writes Zimmerman went against basic rules of the Neighbourhood watch manual which states "It should be emphasised to members that they do not possess police powers. And they shall not carry weapons or pursue vehicles."
• Florida Police did not run a breath or alcohol test on Zimmerman despite the fact that this is the standard procedure with murder investigations. Needles to say, one was run on every fibre and DNA strand of Trayvon's body.
• The officer in charge of the crime scene has a history of lacklustre performance towards white on black crime. In 2010, he failed to arrest a whiteboy videotaped attacking a homeless black man.
• A Million Hoodie March yesterday took place in New York(A nod to Trayvon's "suspicious" looking hoody attire when he was exucted). Trayvon's family have mobilised the help of social media to bring awareness to this possible hate crime. Website link created on change.org draws almost a million petitioners demanding for an arrest and investigation. The case will be brought to a Grand Jury on April 10th. Click here to show support and sign. Make a difference to all the other unreported Trayvon Martins http://www.change.org/petitions/prosecute-the-killer-of-our-son-17-year-old-trayvon-martin
• Trayvon's mother reveals at the age of 9, he saved his father from a burning house. " I can not eat. I can not sleep. I can not relax. Not until he is arrested", she says.
• A vote of  "no confidence" has been passed against the police commissioner, as pressure mounts for Bill Lee's resignation.
• Zimmerman is reported to have gone into hiding.

What if Zimmerman had been a Takhim- LeDixon and Trayvon Martin a Bill Johnson?
How can you act in self defence fearing for your life by following a boy not even old enough to buy cigarettes?. What exactly were you self defending against? Ice tea and a pack of skittles?.

"It's not about these individual acts of racism. It's about the way that black males are framed in the larger culture … as being violent, criminal and threats to safety and property." (Mark Neal, Professor of African and African American Studies Duke University).

Muamba able to speak in both French and English

Fabrice Muamba can now speak and breathe unaided without a ventilator reports Yahoo News. In a statement released by his club Bolton Wanderers, it confirmed Muamba is making progress but still remains in intensive care:

"Fabrice Muamba remains in intensive care at The London Chest Hospital. He is continuing to show signs of improvement this evening. 

"He is now able to breathe independently without the aid of a ventilator. He has also been able to recognise family members and respond to questions appropriately. 

"These are all positive signs of progress.However, the medical staff in intensive care will continue to monitor and treat him.

"His family and club would like to thank the media for continuing to respect their privacy at this time."

Black British footballers  Michael Essien and  Emmanuel Adebayor are said to have visited Muamba holding conversations in both French and English. 

Premiership support for Muamba from black British footballers Cole and  Wright-Phillips

Meanwhile Muamba's fiancee Shauna Muamba continues to take to her Twitter account thanking all for their love and support and also confirming the reports of her partner's progress.  The 27 year old business woman who runs a bespoke Caribbean Take Away service on www.shaunamuamba.com  tweeted: 

" Fabrice has felt every single prayer guys you've been INCREDIBLE!!!. Thank u all so so much I love and appreciate u all. Thank u again xx " 

Male fruit flies booze up after female rejection

PictureCredits:geeksaresexy.net

Men will be men irrespective of their species.According to The Guardian, male fruit flies display similar characteristics to British men; drowning their sorrows in alcohol when rejected by females.

The similarities with British males gets uncannier as fruit flies also lead an energetic sex life albeit having a shorter life span.

The next time you see a fruit fly buzzing around your alcohol, don't shoo it away...the poor sod has just had his heart broken.

Confirmed: Fabrice Muamba suffered a heart attack

Update: Muamba's heart is now beating on it's own and without any medications. He can move arms and legs and recognises some members of his family. 
Muamba's Fiancée Shauna Muamba tweets support and thanks to all.
The Guardian on Sunday reports Muamba's heart stopped beating for 2hours.

Picture Credits: Shauna Muamba Tweeter

 23year old  Black British footballer Fabrice Muamba remains critically ill in hospital as he battles to recover from a heart attack. BBC Radio4 lunchtime news reports Muamba received CPR continuously over a long period en route to hospital. Eventually his heart was able to beat again and he remains currently anaesthetised at the London Chest Hospital, where he is being treated following his heart attack.
The dramatic scene from yesterday on the football pitch as paramedics performed CPR in front of thousands of fans, is a poignant reminder of how precarious life is. The lachrymose event also brings to mind the tragic death of Cameroonian footballer Marc-Vivien Foé who collapsed and later died during a football match in France, in June 2003 at the age of 28. Vivien Foé had also suffered a heart attack. 
Pictures from Muamba's private Twitter account shows him on a Valentine's dinner date with his fiancée Shauna Magunda. Another shows him cuddling up with the couple's young son Joshua and the loving caption  "Chilling with my son after a long day.Fatherhood is a gift from God".

Muamba and Fiancée Shauna Magunda on Valentine's day last month, when they got engaged.

Muamba and Fiancée Shauna Magunda (Credits:DailyMail)

Muamba and Son Joshua ."Chilling with my son after a long day.Fatherhood is a gift from God"

Cameroonian footballer Marc-Vivien Foé collapsed during a football match in 2003 & later died.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Picture Credits: DailyMail.

Pince Harry cheating Usain Bolt is significant of colonisation

All of last week the world went into a Prince Harry harried frenzy when the cheeky royal won the world's fastest man- Usain Bolt in a race, through cheating. It made for fantastic Royal PR and no doubt Nana Lizzy couldn't have resisted a chuckle as she saw the videos.
However I couldn't help but think Harry's cheating when Bolt wasn't looking is significant of the colonisation of Africa. Like Bolt, Africans had the rug pulled from under their feet from their 'friendly' visitors when they too were not looking.
We love the cheeky cheat nevertheless, especially his dancing moves. The stony face man at the back (probably an aide) didn't look overtly impressed.

The best and worst place to be a woman

Image:Mimi Magazine

Women's Day may have come and gone but for some in other parts of the world, being a woman is a daily battle against inequality and abuse. Of course the struggle intensifies when you are of a minority ethnicity in your home country. Here are a few of the best taken from The Independent.

The best place to be a woman

• Politics: Rwanda, 50% of women hold parliamentary seats
• Literacy: Lesotho, 95% of women can read and write.
• Journalists: The Caribbean, 45% of news reported stories are done by females.
• Highly Skilled work: Jamaica, almost 60% of senior roles are occupied by women.(Nothing surprising here given our plethora of "talented" black bruvs in the UK).
• Divorce: Island of Guam, has the highest divorce rate in the world.
• Birth: Greece, 1 in 31,800 risk of dying during childbirth. It is the safest in the world.
• Being a mother: Norway, has a low risk of maternal mortality- 1 in 7,600. (Will the Great British Chavs (GBC) now depart to over there? Unfortunately there is no data on available benefits).
• University: Qatar, where to every man six women are enrolled in further education.
• Sports: USA, five athletes from the US made it into the top ten highest paid female athletes' list.
• Money: Luxembourg & Norway.
• Living longer: Japan.

And all in all the best place to be a woman is Iceland, which boast of the greatest male and female equality ratio.

Ninah's Dowry: Female abuse remains prevalent

Fresh from celebrating the 101st International Women's Day on March 8th, female abuse remains problematic in many countries around the world. Women are still seen as a man's property especially with the payment of the traditional dowry, widely known as bride price.

Usually it is countries with a poor human rights track record who do not recognise the individuality and uniqueness of women. One such country stuck in the Neolithic Age and exhibiting extinct primordial traits is the West African country of Cameroon.
Famed for her football prowess and 'Africa in Miniature' status, the relatively peaceful and democratic country who has had only two presidents since independence in 1960 is home to some of the most chauvinistic males with extreme antifeminist  views.
Interestingly such views are shared by the broad spectrum of Cameroonian men; from the farmer in a remote sleepy village of say Mamfe, to the the high flying City Executive in Cameroon's vibrant metropolitan and economic capital: the city of Douala.

Californian-based-Cameroonian film maker Victor Vuyuoh, seeks to highlight the issue of female abuse in his debut  film Ninah's Dowry. Based on the true story of cousin Evelyn(Ninah),  a promising A student who was forced into an arranged marriage with a man who later became physically abusive. After plucking up courage to run away from her tormentor to her family home, Ninah endured a visible forced transfer back to her husband, as her family was unable to repay the dowry.
Ninah's family stood defenceless...or rather turned a blind eye as their daughter was dragged through the streets back to her abusive partner.
It should be noted that though the film is set in a sleepy Cameroonian village of Babanki, such prehistoric primeval practises could be found in the more advanced towns and cities of Cameroon.

As the norm with anything African and black, the film Ninah's Dowry is currently facing some glitches and hitches before it can be screened. See the video below and if any interests have been stirred to help, click here